Jack White is calling on all major labels to build their own vinyl record pressing plants. He just released a video telling labels that there are supply chain issues and bottlenecks in manufacturing.

He says that at least once a week, someone reaches out asking for help to expedite pressing of their vinyl record.

He said, “With industry-wide turnaround times for vinyl currently leaning towards the length of a human pregnancy, it’s obvious, in a world so contingent on being of-the-moment and timed just right (for a single, an album, a tour etc.), these timelines are the killers of momentum, soul, artistic expression, and far too often, livelihoods.”

Jack White’s label, Third Man Records began a concentrated focus on vinyl in 2009 and press all of their own albums.

SIDE NOTES

  • Quote: “To be clear, the issue is not big labels versus small labels, it’s not independent versus mainstream, it’s not even punk versus pop. The issue is, simply, we have ALL created an environment where the unprecedented demand for vinyl records cannot keep up with the rudimentary supply of them.” 
  • Quote: Across the globe, there are now a handful of NEW companies, building both automated and manual vinyl presses. It’s easier to purchase a vinyl press now than it has been in four decades.

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